Sir Elton John launches new Specsavers collection
Sir Elton John is launching a new glasses collection with Specsavers.
The 'Rocket Man' legend has teamed up with the company on the new Elton John Eyewear range, with 12 optical frames and two limited edition sunglasses inspired by key moments in his life and career.
Sir Elton said in a statement: "Glasses have always been a big part of who I am. For me, style is all about confidence and expressing who you truly are.
"That's exactly what this collection is about, its helping people feel fantastic in frames that celebrate their individuality.
"Specsavers and I share the belief that everyone should have access to eyewear that makes them feel like the best version of themselves.
"I can't wait for people to find a pair they love and make them their own."
The 78-year-old musician's husband David Furnish attended a launch night for the collection this week.
The items - which will be available in store and online from Wednesday (07.05.25) - are inspired by classic tracks like 'Tiny Dancer', 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' and 'Crocodile Rock'.
In a press release, Specsavers said: "Each pair features key signature details, such as the iconic 'E' mark symbolising Elton's personal stamp of approval, and the star — a nod to his illustrious career.
"Whether it's oversized frames that capture a fearless spirit like 'Captain Fantastic', the classic twist of 'Ballad', timeless sophistication of 'Scholar', or the subtle sparkle of 'Diamond Dust', every frame is crafted with Elton's unmistakable aesthetic in mind."
Bianca Swan, Specsavers Style Editor, added: "Elton John's impact on music, fashion, and self-expression is undeniable, and this collection captures that magic.
"Each frame tells a story, offering a balance of everyday versatility with individuality and style at the core of the collection.
"Whether you want a subtle nod to Elton's iconic look or a bold show-stopping piece, there's something for everyone in this collection.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
12-06-2025
- Perth Now
Bob Dylan, Sir Elton john, Sir Ringo Starr and more pay tribute to Brian Wilson
Sir Elton John, Bob Dylan, and Sir Ringo Starr are among the musicians to pay tribute to the late Brian Wilson. The Beach Boys co-founder passed away on Wednesday (11.06.25) at the age of 82 and Tiny Dancer hitmaker Elton praised his friend as the "biggest influence" on his work. Sharing a photo of them together, Elton wrote on Instagram: 'Brian Wilson was always so kind to me from the day I met him. 'He sang 'Someone Saved My Life Tonight' at a tribute concert in 2003, and it was an extraordinary moment for me. played on his solo records, he sang on my album, The Union, and even performed for my AIDS Foundation. 'I grew to love him as a person, and for me, he was the biggest influence on my songwriting ever; he was a musical genius and revolutionary. He changed the goalposts when it came to writing songs and shaped music forever. A true giant.' Meanwhile, Bob had long admired Brian's "genius". He wrote: "Heard the sad news about Brian today and thought about all the years I've been listening to him and admiring his genius. Rest in peace dear Brian". Ringo shared a photo of himself with Brian from the 1980s. He wrote: "God bless Brian Wilson. Peace and love to all his family.' Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards simply wrote "Rest in Peace!" but he also shared a page from his 2011 memoir Life, in which he discussed his first impressions of the Beach Boys' iconic album Pet Sounds. It read in part: "Listening to Pet Sounds, well, it's all a little bit overproduced for me, but Brian Wilson had something. … There was no particular correlation with what we were doing, so I could just listen to it on another level. I thought these are very well-constructed songs.' Kiss rockers Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons remembered Brian as a "genius" and a "visionary". Paul wrote on X: 'Sadly, Brian Wilson has passed away. Songwriter, visionary. Thank you for a lifetime of wonderful melodies that spanned decades. I'm going to spend the day listening to the Beach Boys and reminiscing.' And Gene shared: "Sadly, Brian Wilson has passed away. Songwriter, visionary. Thank you for a lifetime of wonderful melodies that spanned decades. I'm going to spend the day listening to the Beach Boys and reminiscing." The Velvet Underground's John Cale also remembered the God Only Knows singer as a "genius". He said: "To me, Brian Wilson was not merely about surf music, rather a true musical genius toiling away at melding POP into startling sophistication. He will he be missed mightily." Carole King remembered Brian as her "friend and brother in songwriting". She wrote on Facebook: 'Brian Wilson was my friend and my brother in songwriting. We shared a similar sensibility, as evidenced by his 4 over 5 chord under 'Aaaah!' in 'Good Vibrations' and mine under 'I'm Into Something Good.' We once discussed who used it first, and in the end we decided it didn't matter. The world will miss Brian, but we are so lucky to have his music." Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood touched on Brian's influence throughout the world of music. He wrote: 'Anyone with a musical bone in their body must be grateful for Brian Wilson's genius magical touch !! And greatly saddened of this major worldly loss!! My thoughts go out to his family and friends.'
ABC News
12-06-2025
- ABC News
Brian Wilson's best songs exhibit his impact and influence on pop music and culture
It's difficult to accurately measure the impact that Brian Wilson had on music and pop culture. But the widespread tributes pouring in for the genius singer, songwriter and producer of The Beach Boys — who has died aged 82 — gives us a fair barometer. Sir Elton John said Wilson was his "biggest influence". Fleetwood Mac's Mick Fleetwood said "anyone with a musical bone in their body" should be grateful for his music. Sean Lennon, son of The Beatles' John Lennon, hailed Wilson as "our American Mozart." Indeed, there's a convincing case to be made that the Beach Boys brainchild's impact on pop music as we know it is as important and influential as classical masters like Mozart, Beethoven, and Bach. His friendly competition during the late 1960s with The Beatles alone cements his status as a founding sonic architect for contemporary music. Wilson experienced a lot of tragedy in his life. He long struggled with mental health issues, depression, drug abuse, and dementia. But even at its strangest, his undeniable melodies and boundary-pushing production retained a clarity of craft, character and, frequently, sheer exuberance that many have striven to achieve. There's a vast, compelling catalogue to discover and dig into, spanning feel-good sun n' surf singalongs to psychedelic, emotional opuses. But here are five songs to get you started and by which to remember the legendary Brian Wilson. Besides middle brother Dennis Wilson, none of The Beach Boys could actually surf. But that was no obstacle to them moulding the surf-rock archetype. The first in a string of US Top 10 hits for the group, 'Surfin' USA' weaponised doo-wop harmonies, youthful vigour and the structure of Chuck Berry's 'Sweet Little Sixteen' into a summertime anthem that mythologised their native California. An album of the same name followed a few months after 'Surfin' U.S.A.' stormed American radio and charts, exhibiting Brian Wilson's rapidly developing skills as a producer and arranger of the Boys' signature voices. The grand centrepiece of 1966 masterpiece Pet Sounds, this moving ballad makes complex structure and melodic and harmonic movement sound effortless. French horns, sleigh bells, strings — the rich instrumentation enhances what is arguably Carl Wilson's most divine vocal performance on a tender yet unconventional love song. From the layered vocals to the closing choral loop, 'God Only Knows' reaches for the sonic heavens but is rooted in very human emotions. The lyrics display Brian Wilson's growth, exhibiting a complexity and maturity nobody could've predicted from teenage songs about chasing girls and catching waves. In just two verses, the words convey how desperation and anguish can exist on the same spectrum as devotion, and euphoria. The song is one of Paul McCartney's favourites, and the heartbreaking "choker" formed part of what inspired The Beatles 1967 opus Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band which, along with Pet Sounds, forever changed what was possible in pop and rock music. God only knows what we'd be without them. A psychedelic orchestral odyssey disguised as a pocket-sized gem, 'Good Vibrations' was a monumental undertaking. By the mid-60s, Wilson's increased substance abuse led to grander, weirder experimentation in the studio. He spent eight months, across multiple studios, cutting-and-pasting together sounds and ideas at the estimated cost of $US70,000. For years, it was the most expensive song ever recorded. The process caused escalated friction within the Beach Boys, frustrated with Wilson's indulgent tinkering and recruiting The Wrecking Crew, a crack team of LA session musicians. The results were more than worth it. For all its moving parts and shape-shifting movements, the concept is simple: love at first sight. The buzz of romance sparks a swirling sonic ecstasy of elements rarely heard in pop songs — the ghostly wobble of electro-theremin, throbbing cellos, and the sticky yet sacred web formed by the vocal "excitations". There aren't many people who suffered so much bad mojo quite like Brian Wilson but, in 'Good Vibrations', he bottled bliss into a composition whose charm is as potent on the hundredth spin as the first. 1964's 'I Get Around', an impossible-to-resist ode to cruising on a Saturday night, might have been the first Beach Boys song to top the charts. But it was the single's B-side, 'Don't Worry Baby', that really demonstrated Brian Wilson's artistry; the vulnerable Yin to that song's macho Yang. Wilson originally wrote 'Don't Worry Baby' for The Ronettes, as a follow-up to 'Be My Baby', their 1963 hit featuring Phil Spector's patented Wall of Sound technique. (He'd listened to it "more than 1,000 times" according to a 2013 interview). Ronnie Spector and co. turned it down. Her loss was the Beach Boys' gain. Fronted by Wilson's sterling falsetto, the titular chorus forms the soothing words of a girlfriend consoling her boyfriend before a fateful drag race. There's a subtle undercurrent of anxiety mixed with longing, smoothed over by the timeless production: the springy rake of guitars against the warm rhythm section, and those honeyed vocal harmonies humming with longing. There's a brilliant irony to the title track of The Beach Boys' 1971 album. It suggests a return to their sunny roots, but instead it's a melancholy, multi-movement number built on abstract lyrics with zero choruses to be found along its introspective shoreline. One of the earliest songs Wilson wrote with long-term collaborator Van Dyke Parks, the self-aware 'Surf's Up' stitches literary references and a quote from an 1802 Wordsworth poem ("the child is father to the man") into an ambitious suite that pairs a delicate Carl Wilson vocal with a re-assembling of Brian's original 1966 take, recorded five years earlier. Those latter, abandoned sessions formed part of a mythical follow-up to Pet Sounds, known as Smile, which Brian Wilson eventually finished and released as a solo album in 2004. The 1971 version is essential but there's a refined beauty to the 2004 rendition. 'Surf's Up' would come to symbolise the demise of both the 1960s 'Summer of Love' innocence and the Beach Boys' golden era, before their ringleader was lost to decades of personal turmoil. But it's easy to forget and forgive all that and lose yourself in the song's stunning, stark beauty — a reminder of how Brian Wilson deserves to be remembered for the contributions he gave the world, and not necessarily the difficulties it filled his life with.
Perth Now
07-06-2025
- Perth Now
Olly Alexander 'wants to take his foot off the gas' as a musician
Olly Alexander doesn't enjoy the "intensity" of the music business. The 34-year-old singer has put his music career on hold in recent months, in order to focus on acting, and Olly admits that the industry has been overwhelming at times. The Years and Years star told the BBC: "With music, there's an intensity to the way I've been working and putting albums out, promoting and touring. "I definitely want to take the foot off the gas in terms of that intensity." Olly announced his departure from his record label earlier this year, and the singer is currently preparing to star in a West End production of 'The Importance of Being Earnest'. Olly is relishing the stability that acting has given him. He said: "I spent a lot of my previous years moving around, touring, which is so fun and amazing. But I also very much appreciate staying in one place now. "Having a home in London with my partner, my cats, just trotting off to the theatre every night - that just sounds like the most wonderful existence." Meanwhile, Olly previously revealed that he turned to Sir Elton John and Kylie Minogue for advice on how to deal with fame. The pop star - who has also enjoyed significant success as an actor - told the Evening Standard newspaper: "Working with Elton and even Kylie, two of the most iconic legends, they both told me how they've struggled as an artist to feel like at times they knew what they were doing, feeling really dark. "Elton talks a lot about how depressed he was and how difficult things got for him and hearing them talk about that you just go 'wow'." Olly actually found their advice to be really reassuring. The award-winning star said: "I'm someone who is constantly questioning why the hell I'm here and doing what I'm doing like 'oh my God' - I'm totally that person. But to hear that from people I really, really respect that it's normal and you just get through it somehow. That was good advice and good to hear."
